String musical-instrument attachment.



PATENTED AUG. 27, 1907.

I. V. SKINNELL. STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ATTACHMENT.

814mm mil/ fizzle/7.

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APPLIOATION FILED OUT-2, 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK V. SKINNELL, OF WIOHITA, KANSAS.

STRING MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT ATTACHMENT.

Application filed October 2, 1905. Serial No. 280,984.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK V. SKINNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in String Musical-Instrument Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to attachments for stringed musical instruments, and particularly to guitar attachments.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple and inexpensive device which will, when attached to an ordinary guitar or similar instrument, practically combine two instruments in one so that one will be the accompaniment for the other.

In the accompanying drawing, the figure shows a top plan view of the present invention in place upon an ordinary guitar, the latter being shown in dotted lines.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 5 denotes a guitar of the ordinary type, and 6 the neck thereof, which latter is provided with the usual fretted finger-board 7. The strings E, A and D are indicated by the numeral 9, and the strings G, B, and F by the numeral 10. The tail-piece and the nut are indicated respectively by the numerals 13 and 11, the usual bridge-piece 12 being secured upon the tailpiece, as shown.

My attachment, which is shown in full lines in the drawing, is indicated, generally, by the numeral 15, and comprises a finger-board 16 which is slightly tapered from its tail end to its head end, and is provided Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1907'.

at such points with the bridges 17 and 18, respectively. The upper face of the finger-board is provided with a series of frets 19, the lowest fret being spaced from the bridge 17, as indicated by the numeral 20, to permit playing of the strings.

In using the attachment, the same is placed directly under the strings 10 and is of the proper width to serve as a finger-board for these strings, without interfering with the strings 9. lhe strings 10 are then properly tuned and may be played upon and accompanied by the bass strings 9, so that the music produced will be substantially that of a leading instrument and its accompaniinent.

The supplemental linger-board above described is of substantially the same length as the distance between the upper and lower bridges of a mandolin and hence the pitch of the first three strings of the guitar to which the finger-board is attached is increased to substantially the same pitch as the first three strings of a man dolin, it being understood that the fret-board above described is placed beneath the said first three strings of the guitar and held in this position by the strings themselves.

What is claimed, is

The combination with the finger-board of a stringed instrument, of a supplemental fingerboard, having a bridge at each end, said supplemental finger-board being superposed upon said first-mentioned ringer-board.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK V. SKTNNELL.

Witnesses Janus R. VINCENT, II. II. Dnwny. 

